Houston Family Petitions Lawyer

Many families from across the globe aspire to come together in the United States as permanent residents; seeking full-fledged citizenship for themselves and their loved ones. One way to do this is to seek the assistance of a relative who is currently a lawful permanent resident or citizen of the United States. This requires a multi-step process.

I-130 – PETITION FOR ALIEN RELATIVE

First, your relative must file an I-130 for Alien Relative for you that must be accompanied by proof of your relationship to the requesting relative. Your sponsor must file an Affidavit of Support to prove that they can support you at 125% above the mandated poverty line.

The relatives which may be sponsored as an immigrant vary depending on whether the sponsor is a U.S. Citizen or a lawful permanent resident. Citizens may petition for any of the following relatives to immigrate: spouse, unmarried child under the age of 21, unmarried son or daughter over the age of 21, married son or daughter of any age, brother or sister (sponsor must be 21 or older), or parent (sponsor must be 21 or older).

Permanent lawful residents may sponsor spouses and their own children only. At all times there must be proof of the relationship.

Persons who are filing family petitions should realize and prepare for the fact that there is currently an extraordinarily long wait for family-based immigrant visas subject to strict caps under present law. The estimated wait times may be very discouraging but with comprehensive immigration reform pending, now may actually be the best time to file a family-based visa petition for two reasons.

First, it is likely that comprehensive reform will reduce the wait for petitions filed before the law changes; and